Gay FBI Agent's Partner Loses Benefits

Gay FBI Agent's Partner Loses Benefits

Gay FBI Agent's Partner Loses Benefits

LAURA WALSH

Jul. 27, 2004

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ The FBI has rescinded health benefits that it says were mistakenly given to the same-sex partner of an agent after the couple wed in Massachusetts.

Katy Gossman, an agent with the FBI in New Haven, received an e-mail from the bureau informing her that her wife, Kristin, would be removed from her health plan.

FBI spokesman Bill Carter said Tuesday the approval had been a mistake and an oversight. The U.S. government does not allow same-sex spousal benefits, Carter said.

The couple, who live in Meridien, Conn., had been receiving spousal benefits since May 30, Katy Gossman said. They were wed after gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts in May.

Katy Gossman sent a copy of her marriage license to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., seeking benefits for Kristin, whom she listed as her spouse. She also said the New Haven office called FBI headquarters to give them a ``heads up'' about the situation.

``I didn't try to hide it,'' Katy Gossman, 40, said Tuesday.

Kristin Gossman, 38, is a full-time student and had no health benefits before their marriage, Katy Gossman said. The Gossmans have not decided whether to fight the decision.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has said that state law does not allow for same-sex marriages, but he declined to say whether Connecticut will recognize marriage licenses issued to gay couples in Massachusetts.

The Gossmans are among eight couples who have filed a lawsuit challenging a 1913 Massachusetts law that was used to block other out-of-state couples from marrying in the state.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has said that any gay marriages involving out-of-state couples would be declared void.